by Abbey Baltich

Men's Tennis Splits Doubleheader Against Cornell and Morgan State on Sunday

Old Dominion men’s tennis split doubleheader competition on Sunday, falling to No. 25 Cornell 4-1 and sweeping Morgan State 7-0 at home.

Men's Tennis Splits Doubleheader Against Cornell and Morgan State on SundayMen's Tennis Splits Doubleheader Against Cornell and Morgan State on Sunday

NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men’s tennis split doubleheader competition on Sunday, falling to No. 25 Cornell 4-1 and sweeping Morgan State 7-0 at home.

“Another high quality match from our guys against a Top 25 team,” Head Coach Dominik Mueller said. “It came down to a bunch of deep three setters and Cornell just played those moments a little better today. That’s why they are ranked where they are. We are going toe-to-toe with those teams and need to learn how to maintain this high level we are playing all the way through the finish line. Also, very happy how focused we came back for our second match and took care of business there.”

Cornell’s ranked duos got the day started for the Big Red, with No. 51 Rodrigo Fernandes and Eric Verdes downing Adam Majchrzak and Thomas Nelson 6-3 on court one. Following suit, No. 72 Rushil Khosla and Rethin Pranav defeated Yanis Moundir and Felix Obermair on court two, 6-2, putting Cornell in the lead early. ODU’s Zech Hamrouni and Piet Steveker had their match against Felipe Pinzon and Petar Teodorovic suspended at 5-3 on court three.

No. 3 Teodorovic continued to add to Cornell’s lead with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Obermair, with teammate No. 2 Verdes downing Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (3-6, 6-1, 6-4) to put the Bears one point away from claiming the match. Monarch Steveker delayed the victory after besting Aman Sharma on court six (6-1, 3-6, 6-4). However, Cornell would eventually grab the game-winning point, with No. 63 Fernandes overcoming Majchrzak 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 on court one, handing ODU a 4-1 loss.

No. 4 Zech Hamrouni’s and No. 5 Aryan Saleh’s matches against respective opponents Pinzon (6-7, 6-4, 4-1) and Pranav (7-6, 3-6, 1-2) were suspended.

After a short break, the Monarchs came back to the courts energized, and opened doubles play strong. Moundir and Olivier de Sardan defeated Majdi Ben Abdelwahed and Yessine Kerouat on court one by a 6-1 score. No. 2 Zech Hamrouni and Felix Obermair then downed Roman Filima and Rhajzon Rankins (6-3), helping ODU claim the first point of the evening and suspending Aryan Saleh’s and Piet Steveker’s match against Abdulraheem Isa and Ilya Maltsev on court six (5-4).

Momentum kept rolling for Old Dominion, as Moundir claimed the first singles point over Ben Abdelwahed on court four (6-0, 6-3). No. 3 Obermair followed suit with a win against Filimia (6-3, 6-0), allowing No. 1 Majchrzak to clinch the win for the Monarchs after a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Rankins.

Both teams continued to play, resulting in a 7-0 sweep for ODU in courtesy of wins from No. 6 Thomas Nelson, No. 5 Saleh, and No. 2 Olivier de Sardan over respective opponents Isa (6-3, 6-2), Kerouat (6-2, 6-2), and Maltsev (6-3, 6-1).

Old Dominion travels to North Carolina next week to take on Charlotte on Friday, March 13 at 1 p.m.

 

Doubles vs. Cornell:

  1. #51 Rodrigo Fernandes and Eric Verdes (CU) def. Adam Majchrzak and Thomas Nelson (ODU) 6-3
  2. #72 Rushil Khosla and Rethin Pranav (CU) def. Yanis Moundir and Felix Obermair (ODU) 6-2
  3. Zech Hamrouni and Piet Steveker (ODU) vs. Felipe Pinzon and Petar Teodorovic (CU) 5-3, unfinished

Singles vs. Cornell:

  1. #63 Rodrigo Fernandes (CU) def. Adam Majchrzak (ODU) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
  2. Eric Verdes (CU) def. Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (ODU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
  3. Petar Teodorovic (CU) def. Felix Obermair (ODU) 6-4, 6-2
  4. Zech Hamrouni (ODU) vs. Felipe Pinzon (CU) 6-7, 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
  5. Aryan Saleh (ODU) vs. Rethin Pranav (CU) 7-6, 3-6, 1-2, unfinished
  6. Piet Steveker (ODU) def. Aman Sharma (CU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4

Doubles vs. Morgan State

  1. Yanis Moundir and Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (ODU) def. Majdi Ben Abdelwahed and Yessine Kerouat (MSU) 6-1
  2. Zech Hamrouni and Felix Obermair (ODU) def. Roman Filima and Rhajzon Rankins (MSU) 6-3
  3. Aryan Saleh and Piet Steveker (ODU) vs. Abdulraheem Isa and Ilya Maltsev (MSU) 5-4, unfinished

Singles vs. Morgan State

  1. Adam Majchrzak (ODU) def. Rhajzon Rankins (MSU) 6-2, 6-0
  2. Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (ODU) def. Ilya Maltsev (MSU) 6-3, 6-1
  3. Felix Obermair (ODU) def. Roman Filima (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
  4. Yanis Moundir (ODU) def. Majdi Ben Abdelwahed (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
  5. Aryan Saleh (ODU) def. Yessine Kerouat (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
  6. Thomas Nelson (ODU) def. Abdulraheem Isa (MSU) 6-3, 6-2